How many articles have you read that tell you what to eat, why to exercise, and in general how to live a healthy life? Ever wonder, even though these things may help you feel more energetic and look more healthy, do they actually add years to your life?

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New research by Northwestern University is shedding light on this important question. It found that keeping cardiovascular risk factors low does indeed lead to a healthier life. It also found that if you have optimal heart health in middle age, you may live up to 14 years longer, free of cardiovascular disease, than your peers who have two or more cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors.

"We found that many people develop cardiovascular disease as they live into old age, but those with optimal risk factor levels live disease-free longer," said John T. Wilkins, M.D., first author of the study. "We need to do everything we can to maintain optimal risk factors so that we reduce the chances of developing cardiovascular disease and increase the chances that we'll live longer and healthier".

For the study, researchers pulled data from five different cohorts included in the Cardiovascular Lifetime Risk Pooling Project and looked at the participants’ risk of all forms of fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular disease from ages 45, 55 and 65 through 95 years of age.